


My Father Will Probably Never Hear About This

by meowsenhower



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bromance, Gap Filler, No Slash, One Shot, Other, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 21:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6395368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowsenhower/pseuds/meowsenhower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Right after the end of the war in the final book and those who remained went to the Three Broomsticks to drink and celebrate victory or mourn the loss of loved ones. Harry and Draco take a weird walk through Hogsmeade. All characters mentioned belong to the talented J.K. Rowling and not me. THIS IS NOT SLASH. Only bromance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Father Will Probably Never Hear About This

Harry sat silently at the bar accompanied by his typical cohorts Ron and Hermione. On this night the Three Broomsticks was more lively than it had ever been before. Everyone who had survived the war was there to share a pint in celebration and cry into each other’s wizardly garments for those they had lost. British accents hummed in the air as the candles floating above their heads flickered in the dimly lit pub. Harry stared into the swirls of foam forming in his drink and thought of his closest friend whom he had lost in battle, Hedwig. He thought of her last moments and the last words he would ever hear from her again, “screech”. What he would have given to hear her screech once more. Harry was then snapped back into reality by a familiar voice,

“Harry Potter”

To their surprise Draco Malfoy had entered, a look of benevolence spread across his visage. The warm light from the candles streaming down the curvature of his muscular cheeks. He was not here for the same reasons as everyone else. As he sauntered over Harry looked desperately to his two friends who only responded with shrugs and silent ‘I don’t know’s'.

“Potter I need to talk to you about something, privately” Malfoy demanded, his eyes burning into Harry’s. At first Harry hesitated to follow his lifelong enemy out the door, however he could feel the desperation in Draco’s words and obliged. The two weaved through the densely packed bar. Harry tried to ignore their stares, but he could feel the eyes of every single person he passed like needle pricks on his skin. A wave of hushed confusion slowly engulfed the bar. Why would Harry leave such a celebration for the likes of Draco, a Death-Eater’s son. As the doors closed behind them Harry could hear the roar of voices as everyone inside either began sharing their thoughts on this or just went back to their drinks and small talk.

“To what do I owe this honor of your presence?” Harry asked, thinking to himself how utterly silly he sounded saying that. Draco paused, kicking the ground like a shy child meeting their parents’ friends for the first time. “Potter…” Draco began. Yes that is my name, Harry thought. “Harry, I, I just wanted to come thank you for saving my life.” This took Harry a moment to process. Had Draco just addressed him by his first name? That never happened. “You’re welcome” Harry said, still unsure of where this was going, considering Draco’s uncharacteristic gratitude.  
“Can we take a short walk? I promise it will not take too long.” Harry searched Draco’s expression in hopes that perhaps he had somehow been cursed or was someone else who drank polyjuice potion in order to play a horrible prank on him. Though, all he found was a young man, broken from the war and desperate to find something. Harry hoped that Draco would find whatever he was looking for so he could return to the bar stool he had occupied in the bar which was now most likely cold in his absence. With a shrug, a nod, and a “sure why not”, Harry agreed to Draco’s request.

The two walked through the dark, empty streets of Hogsmeade. A calm, silence blanketed the small village as the only sign of life came from the muffled chatter in the Three Broomsticks. Neither Harry nor Draco spoke a word as they began their stroll. They stopped a few times to gaze into shop windows. Business had been slow recently since most of the village had gone to aid in war efforts, but each shop remained as they were. As Harry looked into the window of Tomes and Scrolls, he felt a sense of normalcy. He couldn’t remember the last time he experienced this feeling. Perhaps it was the day before his 11th birthday, the closest thing to normal for Harry was living in a cabinet under the stairs. 

As the two stood there seemingly hypnotized by the books turning their own pages in the store window, Draco began laughing. “You know Potter, if you were sorted into Slytherin all of this would have ended much differently. We could have even been friends.” Despite having multiple identity crises during his time at Hogwarts and wondering if his ability to speak parseltongue made him a Slytherin, Harry never saw Draco as a potential friend. 

They stood there in silence until Harry finally responded, “Maybe, but I am not a Slytherin and we are not friends. So what is your point? Why are we here?” His words were sharp and he could tell Draco was hurt. Or whoever this person is in front of him was hurt. Harry was still not convinced this was really Draco.

“After all that has happened”, Draco began, “after all the years I spent hating everyone I deemed below me, I want to pretend I am not the person that hatred made me to be. I want to, just for an hour, pretend we were friends. Then we can return to our own lives as if this never happened.” Harry could feel his jaw dropping with each word as it came from Draco’s mouth. He thought for a moment about all of the horrible interactions they each shared. The burning hatred. However, there was another man Harry once hated, Snape. His memories still lingered in Harry’s mind. Memories of his beautiful mother whom Snape loved all his life and his father who had tortured poor, young Severus. Just like Snape, Draco was an enemy to Harry and perhaps this was his chance to prove he isn’t as evil as harry believed him to be. However, this meeting most likely would not end with Draco dying heroically by snake bite just as Snape did.

Harry must have been reminiscing for much longer than he though, because as he looked up to speak, Draco’s eyes were practically burning with desperation. “Alright”, Harry sighed. Draco then turned to continue their walk. Despite only seeing the back of his head, Harry knew Draco’s expression had changed. He knew the corners of his mouth were turned up slightly in that smug, tight smile he always wore with his eyes aimed just above the rooftops. For the first time since the beginning of this strange evening Draco was starting to act like himself. 

As they continued on their walk Draco would say things over his shoulder to Harry just as he did with Crabbe (may he rest in peace) and Goyle when they were students at Hogwarts. He never mentioned the war or those who had passed in battle. Draco just talked about small, insignificant things like his suit that was recently tailored improperly or how he did not care for dinner the other night. Harry wasn’t sure if the things Draco was saying were true, but he listened to his complaints anyway.

Before Harry knew it he was nodding and laughing along with Draco’s rants, “... those idiots must have used a bloody charm to shorten one sleeve and not the other…” he scoffed tugging at his sleeves. Harry was surprised with how well he was getting along with someone he had considered his sworn enemy. Perhaps it was the overall strangeness of the situation or the fact that, in this moment, he was able to escape from reality, but Harry was enjoying himself. 

As they began rounding back to the Three Broomsticks Harry actually found himself disappointed this bizarre encounter had to end. Draco was giving his opinion of the brand of wand wax he had just purchased ‘at too high of a price for such a terrible quality wax’ when they stopped in front of the inn. “Well Potter”, Draco said “Thank you again for saving my life. I will not forget what you did for me then and what you have done for me tonight.” Harry began opening his mouth to speak when Draco interrupted, “Tell Weasley and the Mudblood ‘hello’ for me.” They both paused and without a word smiled and nodded with a mutual understanding. As Harry turned to open the door he said “Good luck with the rest of your life, Draco” and under the roar voices coming from somehow still lively celebration Harry could hear a muffled, “you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first so I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think :)


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